Cost of childcare 'soaring'

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Cost of childcare 'soaring'

Childcare costs have risen so rapidly in recent years that almost three-quarters of parents are struggling to find affordable childcare in their area, a new report claims.

Childcare costs have risen at above inflation rates for three years running, with a typical nursery place for a child under two now costing £134 per week; up from £128 last year, a rise of nearly five per cent.

The Daycare Trust is calling on the government to provide support for parents to help them meet the spiralling costs by expanding help available under the Childcare Tax Credit.

The charity's report reveals that nurseries are now charging up to £17,500 a year per toddler, and working parents are being stretched to their financial limits to secure care for their children.

The Daycare Trust claims that British parents pay the biggest childcare bills in Europe, with large families finding it particularly hard to cope with rising costs.

The Daycare Trust and the TUC are holding a conference on women, child poverty and childcare.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "Childcare is now one of the most pressing concerns for unions and parents both in and out of work. The Government has made a good start, now it's for ministers, local councils, employers and unions to grasp the challenge and help make childcare a reality for every parent who wants it."

The government is currently debating ways to tackle the growing problem of affordable childcare and, under plans being considered in Downing Street, middle-class parents would have to pay for new state-funded schemes. However, campaigners want a much bigger reform of childcare support in the UK.

The government has already promised a free nursery place for every three- and four-year-old who needs one, but these are only part-time, meaning many working mothers have to pay for extra care on top.

The Treasury will publish a review of childcare this summer, which is expected to recommend creating hundreds of thousands more places by 2012.

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